Europe

[diesel1973]

I know this is not a cruising subject but with the unlimited amount of wisdom on this site I'm hoping to get some info. Am planning on doing a land tour by car in Germany,Austria,Switzerland, and possibly Belgium. Would anyone know of a site beside Trip Advisor where I could get info on points of interest to visit to help plan my trip. Thanks in advance.:):):)

[zoncom]

Fodors, Frommers. Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, DK eyewitness series. Most of these also have online sites.

Edited July 30, 2015 by zoncom

[orchestrapal]

Fodors, Frommers. Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, DK eyewitness series. Most of these also have online sites.

 

And just plain GOOGLE!

[milolii]

How much fun!

 

Other places to obtain information would be looking at the itineraries offered by some of the major tour companies such as Globus and Trafalgar. The others mentioned above are also great.

 

Enjoy

[diesel1973]

eorope

[diesel1973]

Thanks to everyone for the help. I certainly have my work cut out for me!!:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Bob++]

How long will you have? We did something similar years ago and took three weeks. It doesn't leave much time to explore and the driver has his eyes on the road and misses a lot.

 

My advice - find a few places you really want to visit and try to keep the driving to a minimum. Oh - and when you cross the alps, use one of the scenic routes not the modern tunnels.

 

Edit - I just realised that you are not going to Italy... so not over the alps.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Bob++

[LondonTowner]

The tourist board websites have a lot of useful information too. The Via Michelin website is useful for driving distances and toll charges.

 

I would choose a few bases and have days out from those places, otherwise you spend a lot of time on the road and not really seeing anything.

[4774Papa]

Fodors, Frommers. Lonely Planet, Rick Steves, DK eyewitness series. Most of these also have online sites.

Frommers is accessable on line. Rick Steves is a good choice to carry with you.

 

I have lived overseas for nine years, five in the Middle East and four in Germany.

Did a lot of traveling via rail and POV during the 1980 and loved a guide called Fieldings. I guess it is no longer in publication. However, I had a Europe of $20 a day. Great for finding pensiones for economical travel. You won't find any for $20 a day, but can still find bargains.

 

I suggest that you check out Frommers first, or jump right in and buy Rick Steves for Germany.

 

Determine what places that you want to see.

 

Having lived in Bavaria for four years, there is a lot to see just in Germany.

 

Say you were planning two weeks in Europe.

 

I suggest flying into Munich, renting a car, driving to Berchtesgaden, Germany, then Salzburg, Austria, then Vienna, across to Innsbruck, Austra, then north back to Germany to Garmisch, Germany, north to Augsburg, Germany, then get on the "Romantic road." that will take you to Dinkelsbuhel and Rhotenburg on the Tauber. That will about run out your two weeks, but if you have more, you could continue to Heidelberg and then go up the Rhine for several places. In fact, you could go all the way to Amsterdam. Don't miss Cologne.

[markeb]

Does this trip include a delivery in Munich, Stuttgart, or Regensburg? Just curious as that's not an uncommon reason to have time in that part of the world and a desire to drive!

 

I can't find fault with 4774Papa's route! Other than if you were picking up a vehicle in Munich, I might reverse the first part so I'd be over 1200 miles when I hit the A-8 out of Berchtesgaden!

 

On the serious side, there's a lot to see and do in the area you're discussing. A few things well will ultimately be more rewarding. You can do music, for instance, from Vienna to Salzburg to Bayreuth. You can see the Alps from Landeck to Innsbruck to Garmisch. WWII sites from Dachau to Aachen to Bastogne. But doing it all... We lived there for three years and barely scratched the surface!

[floridababa]

Frommers is accessable on line. Rick Steves is a good choice to carry with you.

 

I have lived overseas for nine years, five in the Middle East and four in Germany.

Did a lot of traveling via rail and POV during the 1980 and loved a guide called Fieldings. I guess it is no longer in publication. However, I had a Europe of $20 a day. Great for finding pensiones for economical travel. You won't find any for $20 a day, but can still find bargains.

 

I suggest that you check out Frommers first, or jump right in and buy Rick Steves for Germany.

 

Determine what places that you want to see.

 

Having lived in Bavaria for four years, there is a lot to see just in Germany.

 

Say you were planning two weeks in Europe.

 

I suggest flying into Munich, renting a car, driving to Berchtesgaden, Germany, then Salzburg, Austria, then Vienna, across to Innsbruck, Austra, then north back to Germany to Garmisch, Germany, north to Augsburg, Germany, then get on the "Romantic road." that will take you to Dinkelsbuhel and Rhotenburg on the Tauber. That will about run out your two weeks, but if you have more, you could continue to Heidelberg and then go up the Rhine for several places. In fact, you could go all the way to Amsterdam. Don't miss Cologne.

 

Can I go fly into Cologne do touring for 3 days do Rhine river and then train back to Amsterdam for a cruise? Does this make sense?

[4774Papa]

 

Can I go fly into Cologne do touring for 3 days do Rhine river and then train back to Amsterdam for a cruise? Does this make sense?

Cologne is primarily know for its magnificent Cathedral. It is worth a stop, but the best area for a short Rhine river cruise is at Rüdesheim, which is closer to Frankfurt.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R%C3%BCdesheim_am_Rhein

Cologne is worth one day. It is about 160 miles by road from Amsterdam. Rudesheim is about 80 miles south of Cologne.

 

If you flew into Franfurt, took the train or a rental car to Rudesheim, you could take a shore Rhine river cruise past the Loreli, which is a beautiful area of the river. You would then go back to Rudesheim, proceed on to Cologne and spend the night there. If you had a rental car you could drive to AAchen, the famous cathedral of Charlemagne.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aachen_Cathedral

 

Proceed on to Arnhem to see the museum of the British Paratroopers that fought for "The Bridge to Far" in the famous WWII battle. The bridge is still there.

 

If you didn't want to rent a car, you could likely make rail connections, but not sure how good that would be.

[Globaliser]

If you didn't want to rent a car, you could likely make rail connections, but not sure how good that would be.

Or if renting a car is too expensive. Picking up a rental car in Frankfurt and dropping it off in another country 300 miles away is likely to incur some one-way fees, possibly quite significant.

 

Frankfurt and the stretch of the Rhine immediately below is a great idea - it is the prettiest and most romantic part of the river. The train is very feasible; a main line runs all along the side of the river here. Once you get to Cologne, there are excellent connections to all parts of western Europe.